CFP: [Film] International Symposium on Trans Cinema Studies

19th May 2009 at the University of AmsterdamCo-sponsored by T-Image Foundation and The Amsterdam School for CulturalAnalysis Convened by Eliza Steinbock, PhD Candidate at ASCA and boardmember of T-Image Foundation

Taking place in conjunction with the Netherlands Transgender Film Festival(NTGF)20-24 May 2009 at de Balie Cultural Center

In celebration of our 5th bi-annual festival, we will convene a full dayof debate amongst scholars, filmmakers, the transgender community, andfestival attendees. We imagine this symposium to be both reflective andforward-looking.

Susan Stryker (visiting Professor, Harvard University and AssociateProfessor Gender Studies, Indiana University) will present hergroundbreaking work on Christine Jorgenson, a transsexual celebrity andfilmmaker, as well as lead the closing plenary.

We invite 20 min. presentations from scholars and/or professionals in thefield. In the interest of staking out some of the concerns of â€œtranscinema studies,â€ we suggest the following issues:

History: in what ways have gay and lesbian television, cinema andfestivals enabled trans visibility; what are the histories of otheravenues of emergence; in what ways have film festivals shaped the filmsthat have been made?;

Accessibility/Distribution: what might we do about the identity â€˜problemâ€™facing trans film festivals, which as a platform for trans cinema aresidelined as being too specialist or become redundant as more queer filmfestivals curate a trans program; what are the implications of greater orlesser distribution for certain films at festivals and elsewhere?

Reception: what work do (trans) viewers perform on films to make themtrans, read them as trans, to make the films work in particular ways; whatis at stake in trans perceptibility and how might we understand it?

Film Craft: to what extent have techniques and strategies from queer andfeminist film been incorporated into trans cinema and vice versa;is â€˜transnessâ€™ in the director, content, conventions/expectations, themarket, or?;

Genre: which genres has trans representation tapped into and why; whichgenres have not yet been explored; might trans cinema be an expansive termto include experimental cinema (new languages and strategies)?;

Representation: what are the dominant and subjugated models of transrepresentation, especially in terms of the politics of nation, race, age,sexuality, and class; what kinds of shifts have occurred in terms of filmswith MTF or transfeminine characters and films with FTM or transmasculinecharacters?;

Film Theory: how might feminist film theory overlap with trans filmtheory; do we mean â€˜transâ€™ as a concept or a practice; what methods offilm analysis and film history does trans cinema render obsolete; whattools of analysis does trans cinema call for and suggest?

Please submit a 250 word abstract of your intended paperand a biographical note.Send to Eliza Steinbock <eliza_at_transgenderfilmfestival.com>by 1 February 2009.We look forward to your response and hope to see you in May!www.transgenderfilmfestival.com